Top Photography Website Essentials | While we’d all like to believe that we don’t judge books by their covers, that’s simply not true. From things as simple as choosing the cake we get to more important things like deciding whether to do business with a company, we’re constantly guided by our intuition and first impressions. In the photography industry, where you no longer have to carry around a large portfolio book to show your work to every potential client, your website will be your very first impression. And it better be a great one, because it will be the difference between booking a sale and losing a potential client.

First impressions are oftentimes the last impressions online. Think about it – a potential client is looking for a wedding photographer. They will google “wedding photographer” for a particular area, open a bunch of websites in different tabs and start narrowing down the selection. The good news is that most of the photography websites out there won’t make the cut! So, to help you hit the ground running and set up a website that grabs a potential client’s attention and gets you hired on the spot, we gathered some of the most effective tips and tricks we use every day when designing websites for our clients!

Personal Preferences | Top Photography Website Essentials

Before you start even thinking about designing a website, you need to clearly define your target audience and figure out what appeals to them. Don’t rely on thinking you know what they’re looking for – instead, do your homework and know what they like! After all, how are you supposed to set up a website that grabs your potential client’s attention if you don’t know who they are? The website that will appeal to a high-school senior will be quite different from the website that appeals to high-end bride, so make sure you know your ideal client in terms of age, gender, location, and even finances.

Pen And Paper | Top Photography Website Essentials

Once you figure out who your ideal client is, you can start sketching a few ideas. Don’t go straight to your computer – instead, spend some time working out a few ideas using just a pen and paper, figuring out what features your website will need, as well as the overall layout. It is only when you have these bare essentials sorted out that you can move on to your computer and start creating the initial draft that will morph through time into a real website.

This is why we create two completely different drafts for our clients, and then start tweaking the design when they choose the one they like the most. The layout of your website is one of the first things your visitors will notice, so make sure you don’t settle for the first idea that comes to your mind; instead, check out other options as well and see what will work best for you!

Purity | Top Photography Website Essentials

No matter how many time we’ve all heard the good old “Keep things simple!” maxim, the knee-jerk reaction of many photographers is to “spice things up” with unnecessary design elements that only overshadow their work. While having an impressive website is important, make sure it’s not at the expense of your work. In other words, if your visitors and potential clients can’t stop raving about the design of your website, barely mentioning your work, you’ve got a serious problem on your hands. When it comes to the web design, less really is more!

Get rid of all the unnecessary elements that don’t contribute to the effectiveness of your portfolio website and conversion of your visitors into paying clients! By focusing only on important and functional elements, you’ll allow your work to take the center stage where it belongs. Minimizing the distractions will enable your potential clients to focus on your work, instead of getting distracted by overly flashy design. Another way to achieve a simple and clean look is by using plenty of white space. Mind you, the term doesn’t refer to only white elements on your website, but on empty areas that help keep the content organize and important elements emphasized.

Practicality | Top Photography Website Essentials

While your goal is definitely a website that stands out from the crowd and grabs the attention, don’t remember its purpose – to get you hired! In order to actually book a client, you need to let them know how they can reach out to you! Think about it; a potential client lands on your website, goes through your portfolio, likes what you can do for them and now they want to hire you! To make it as easy as possible, consider including your contact details in the footer or the header of each page so your potential clients don’t have to click around aimlessly in search of your phone number.

So, what’s most important? Your phone number should definitely be up there, as well as your email address. You can also consider including your social media links if you use those platforms to promote the services you’re providing to your potential clients. Keep in mind that these links might end up leading your visitors away from your website, so you should keep them neatly tucked away. Think about setting up a separate contact page with all the other less important info, and even adding a contact form that will allow your potential clients to contact you without leaving your website.

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Testimonials

I had been following Media Novak’s work for a while now and was always impressed with their logo work. The logo designs they came up with based on my wishes for what I wanted it to look like were above and beyond what I had imagined. The process itself was smooth and so easy. I gave input and they took it on board and applied it to the next design. I would highly recommend them any day!

Chantal Lachance-Gibson Photography

I cannot begin to say enough about Mark & the team at Media Novak. Their customer service has been TOP NOTCH! They have gone way beyond my expectations and dreams and have put together a website for me that I am so proud of… I actually can’t believe that it’s mine! If you are looking for a new website or new branding then look no further… contact these guys today!

Myrick Cowart – Photographer

Thank you thank you thank you! I really appreciate all of your help and your quick replies and editing, and well, everything. I will DEFINITELY be referring your team! I love my new logo and I love that it is completely my own and completely encompasses my brand. I really appreciate all of the time and effort your team has put into this project. Thank you again and again!

Bethany Petersen – Photographer

I decided to hire Media Novak after seeing a friends logo that I really liked. I sent them my ideas but I actually preferred one of their original concepts over my own ideas! They really understood the look and feel I was trying to achieve and I am delighted with my new logo! I found the process to be really enjoyable and smooth and emails were answered very quickly… a big thumbs up from me!

Karen McGowran – Photographer

Media Novak were helpful and listened to me as the client… never once tried to push their likes onto me… but they do offer good advice. I think what has mattered most to me was once we went live, they were very much still around to iron out little problems that only became noticeable to myself with the daily running of a website and a blog! I would highly recommend them to other businesses!

Jo-Ann Stokes – Photographer

Media Novak designed a beautiful website for me and I’m very satisfied with it. They listened to what I wanted and tailored the site to fit me and I really appreciate that. Their prices are reasonable and the quality is fantastic. I would highly recommend this company.

About Us

MediaNovak is a creative design agency that specializes in web design, online marketing, graphic design and corporate identity solutions. We started our company with some basic ideals—offer our customers exceptional design, while delivering a positive customer experience.

These ideals have helped grow our business and drive customers to our door. A majority of our business comes simply from “word of mouth” referrals—one customer telling another of the experience that we offer here. We consider this the ultimate compliment.